The Government of Saskatchewan is renewing its commitment to a strong, resilient and growing forestry sector with the development of a forest resource inventory project by the Ministry of Environment.
“This project will facilitate the expansion of our forestry industry and support appropriate stewardship of our forests by providing critical information to industry and other users,” Environment Minister Dana Skoropad said. “The information from the forest resource inventory will help us, along with industry, continue to sustainably manage Saskatchewan’s publicly owned forests to a high standard that is recognized nationally and around the world.”
With an additional $400,000 from the 2022-23 provincial budget, the ministry continues to invest in an updated forest resource inventory for Saskatchewan’s commercial forest zone, that includes approximately about 15 million hectares of forest south of the Churchill River. The information allows industry to develop economically and ecologically sustainable long-term harvest plans.
Using remote sensing data and the latest technology, areas of the forest can be mapped more quickly than in the past. To date, the Ministry of Environment has completed the forest resource inventory for more than five million hectares and anticipates completing the entire commercial forest within five years.
Forestry is northern Saskatchewan’s largest sector, supporting families and northern communities with nearly 8,000 jobs and another 2,600 on the way with $1 billion in planned capital investments. Last year, Saskatchewan had a record $1.8 billion in forestry sales.
Indigenous people make up more than 27 per cent of Saskatchewan’s total forestry sector workforce, the highest percentage of any province. Additionally, 30 per cent of the provincial timber supply is allocated to Indigenous businesses, also the highest of any province.
